Method of applying patterns to vinyl floor coverings



1959 F. J. w. BARTLETT 2,867,263

usmon OF APPLYING PATTERNS T0 VINYL FLOOR COVERINGS Filed April 4, 1955IN V TOR. FtqNC/S J finer-Err United States Patent O I 2,867,263 j gMETHOD OF APPLYING PATTERNS T I I l FLOOR COVERINGS Francis JohnWoodford Bartlett, Pontypool, Mon, England, assignor to Francis JohnWoodford Bartlett, Pontypool, Mon, England, and William W. Prager, NewYork, N. Y., as trustees Application April 4, 1955, set-n1 No. 499,252 4Claims. c1. 154-26) pattern which could be produced and reproducedthereon has been rather limited. This limitation results from thefree-flowing nature of the vinyl particles which tend to form streaksand irregularities when subjected to hot calender rolls or presses. If aregular form is to be obtained as, for example, a terrazzo or'parquetblock effect, it has been necessary to employ printing blocks or rollerprinting systems.

The methods of the prior art employed such equipment and through the useof a vinyl-type ink or paste, printed patterns directly on a pre-fonnedsheet of the vinyl floor covering or backing material. Such printingoperations provided only a very thin layer of'the design which thoughrepeatable to some extent, could readily be eroded and thereby greatlymar'the appearance of the floor or wall covering. 0 Another disadvantageof forming regular printed patterns on vinyl sheets is that the printingremains on the surface of the sheet. This is necessarily a thin layerandpenetration of the vinyl printing ink into the sheet is rather limited.Similarly, if a vinyl ink or paste is used for printing directly on afelt base, there is a tendency for plasticizer migration into the basewhich will eventually cause delaminating of the printed pattern.

Another method which has been attempted is to print onto a paper backingwith a vinyl ink or paste, fuse this material and then calender, by ahot process, a backing onto this printed pattern. This method, however,has shown that it is not practical owing to the danger of destruction ofthe backing during the hot calendering process.

I propose to overcome these and other difliculties of the prior art byproviding a novel method of producing an inlaid pattern into vinyl-typefloor coverings. This pattern will be relatively thick as compared tothose previously known and will be an integral part of the floorcovering.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a vinyl-typefloor covering which is capable of carrying a regularly repeatablepattern of such a nature that it will not be easily eroded and will beas resistant to wear as the other vinyl material in the floor covering.

it is another object of my invention to provide a novel vinyl-typecovering for floors, walls and the, like which contains an inlaidpattern, the pattern forming an in-.

tegral part of the vinyl material and being readily repeatable indesired, fanciful designs.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a method forproducing an inlaid type vinyl covering material which is highlyeconomical and advantageous when compared with methods of the prior art.

These and other objects of my invention will become apparent. from thefollowing description when: taken in connection with the drawingsinwhieh 'F'gure l g r a schematic diagram illustrating specifically anembodiment of my novel process. I

Figure 2 is a'magnification of the areaflon Figure 1 [showing how thebacking'material is strippedfrom the ,printedvinyl covering.

Figure 3 is an example of-a terrazzo repeatable pattern which may beobtained by my process, although it is to be understood that otherfanciful. patterns are equally reproducible.

Essentially my invention involvesthe printing'of a desired patterneffect on a thin strippable backing material such as paper, metal foilor cardboard and thereafter applying to the said backing materialdiscrete, malleable polyvinyl granules of the type described and claimedin my co-pending application (M-439) Serial No. 499,251, filed April 4,1955, now U. S. Patent No. 2,835,620.

.These granules, when subjected to pressure under calender rolls, willform a continuous sheet of vinyl material which will completely coverthe printed pattern previously applied to the backing.

After a heating step, the backing may be readily stripped and in doingso, the area which was previously adjacent or contiguous to the backingcomprises the printed pattern. By superimposing on this pattern a sheetof vinyl material made from my novel malleable granules, the patternbecomes inlaid in the said sheet and is not subject to wear or erosionas were the thin superimposed patterns heretofore known.

This process is particularly advantageous, because it allows theproduction of a vinyl covering for floors, walls and the like which mayconsist either of layers of laminated vinyl tileor of a single layer ofprinted vinyl secured to any desired backing materialsuch as, forexample, impregnated felt.

Referring now to the drawings and to a specific embodiment of myinvention, a sheet of paper, cardboard, metal foil or other thinstrippable relatively weak backing material 11 is unwound from roll 12.A vinyl paste or ink of a composition well known in the art is retainedin reservoir 18. A specific example of the vinyl paste or ink to which Irefer is as follows:

Material: Parts by weight Opalon 410 (an emulsion type polyvinylchloride sold by Monsanto Chemical Company) Tricresyl phosp ate 20Dioctyl phosp te 20 Pigment l0 Diluent or solvent 20 Obviously, theamount of diluent can be varied according to the viscosity desired andof course other polyvinyl chloride resins may be substituted for theOpalon. Examples of these are resins going under the trade names Exon654 of Firestone, Solvic 334 of Solvic Company, Belgium, and QYNV ofCarbide and Carbon Company.

This vinyl ink is picked up by the rotation of roll 20 and thentransferred to printing roll 15. I In order to facilitate the picking upof suitable quantities of the ink from the reservoir, the roll 20 mayhave a rubberized surface. The roll 15 presses the ink against thebacking material 11 as it passes over pressure roll 22. From here, theprinted backing material goes into oven 26 which is maintained at atemperature between 70 and C. so as to evaporate the diluent. The timein the furnace may vary from one to five minutes depending upon thetemperature, thickness of backing and the type 'of oven used.

After leaving the. oven, the printed vinyl layer on the paper or otherstrippable backing passes underneath a vibrator 30 which distributesthereon malleable, poly- Patented Jan. 6, 1959 v vinyl granules of thetype described in my copending application (M-439) Serial No. 499,251,filed April 4, 1955, now U. S. Patent No. 2,835,620. These granules areof from to 120 mesh size and contain a resin from in more detail in mycopending application hereinbefore referred to. As stated therein, anemulsion-type polymer is a polymer which has been made by the emulsionpolymerization process and which forms a paste at room temperature.Polymers of similar or identical chemical composition which have beenformed by a dispersion polymerization process arerefcrred to as dispersion-type" polymers and are identifiable by the fact that atroomtemperatures they will not readily form a colloidal suspension. Bothof these materials are well known to the art and are sold under varioustrade names as hereinafter indicated.

The imulsion-type polymers are sold under such names as: Opalon 410,sold by Monsanto Chemical Co.; Geon 121, sold by Goodrich; Exon 654. aFirestone product; Vestolite'P. H. sold by Chemische Werke Hols,Germany; Solvic 334, of Solvic, Belgium, and QYNV of Bakelite. Thedispersion type polymers are sold under fchloride; however, the Geon 202referred to above is a copolymer of vinylchloride and vinylidenechloride. The VYNW referred to is a mixture of polyvinyl chloride andpolyvinyl acetate which contains between 93 and 95 percentvinylchloride.

Along with the resinous components, the granules contain suitablefillers, stabilizers and pigments which are well known in the art.

The vibrator is operated at a constant oscillatory rate by eccentric 32.This allows the spreading of a constant flow of granules onto thebacking, providing thereon a relatively even distribution of the vinylcomposition. As the granules are applied ,over the printed pattern, thebacking granules and printed pattern are passed through calender rollsand 41. These rolls may operate at room or elevated temperatures and themalleable granules form a resinous sheet which is superimposed over theprinted portion 47 as'can be seen more readily in Figure 2. At thispoint, the vinyl sheet is laminated to the base and passed-throughanother oven 50 which is maintained at temperatures between 120 and 180.C.

;for a period of about two to five minutes depending on furnace, filmand other conditions.

After the vinyl coating 45 has fused to the backing 111, the laminatedlayers are separated in a manner injdicated in Figure 2, so that thevinyl composition is .wound upon roll 53 while the backing previouslyholding the printed film is wound upon roll 54'. The vinyl compositionmay take various patterns such as a ter:

razzo type pattern as illustrated in Figure 3. 1 The pattern which isinlaid onto the vinyl tile will have a thickness varying from five totwenty mils dependingupon the viscosity of the printing past or ink.pending upon the viscosity of the printing paste orink. laid pattern mayvary from about ten mills to one-quarter of an inch, depending uponwhether or not the final floor or wall covering is to comprise only avinyl tile or a vinyl layer superimposed upon a backing material such asburlap or impregnated felt, or other heavy fabrics.

Ordinarily, the printed pattern will be em edd d in the vinyl sheet ortile to a depth varying between five and enty percent of the totalthickness of the vinyl. The attern and the basic vinyl layer are asingle, integral unit and may be readily separated from the paper,cardboard or foil backing without being separable from each other. Afterseparation from the foil, the patterned vinyl layer 45 may then belaminated onto a heavy backing fabric such as impregnated felt, burlapor it may be laminated to additional polyvinyl chloride layers ifdesired.

It is to be understood that the rolls 15, 20 and 22 may be replaced byflat bed printing devices or other printing methods well known to theart and I do not intend to limit my invention to the particular printingmeans herein illustrated.

Vinyl floor or wall coverings or tiles or other vinylcoatings producedin accordance with my novel process contain an infinite variety offanciful patterns which, being integral with the vinyl tile will notwear, erode or otherwise mar the appearance of the floor or wallcovering. Moreover, such patterns can be made repeatable as often asdesired by suitable adjustment of the printing rolls.

Although} have described preferred embodiments of my invention, it willnow be'apparent that variations and modifications may be made by thoseskilled in the art. I prefer to be limited, therefore, not by thespecific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of making a vinyl type covering for floors, walls and thelike which comprises the steps of printing a vinyl resin ink on astrippable backing material, heating the printed backing material so asto remove solvent therefrom, applying to said printed backing, malleableresinous granules comprising a mixture. of polymers from the groupconsisting of polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of vinyl .chloride andvinyl acetate and copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride,the said granules further comprising a polymer mixture in which 45 topercent, by weight, thereof is a polymer obtained by emulsionpolymerization and 10 to 55 percent thereof is a dispersion typepolymer, pressing the said granules into a continuous sheet and onto theprinted backing, passing the resulting composite vinyl sheet and backingthrough a heating zone maintained between C. and C., and stripping thevinyl layer from the backing material thereby providing a covering'of atleast 10 mils thickness having inlaid therein, for at least 5 percent ofits thickness, a regularly repeatable pattern.

2. The method of making a vinyl type covering for floors, walls and thelikewhich comprises the steps of printing a vinyl resin ink on astrippable backing material, heating the printed backing material so asto remove solvent therefrom, applying to said printed backing, malleableresinous granules comprising a mixture of polymers from the groupconsisting of polyvinyl chloride, 'copolymers of vinyl chloride andvinyl acetate and copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride,the said granules further comprising a polymer mixture in which 45 to 90percent, by weight, thereof is a polymer obtained by emulsionpolymerization and 10 to 55 percent thereof is a dispersion typepolymer, pressing the said granules into a continuous sheet and onto theprinted backing, passing the resulting composite vinyl sheet and backingthrough a heating zone maintained between 120 C. and 180 C. for at least2 minutes, and stripping the vinyl layer from the metallic backingmaterial thereby providing a'covering of atleast 10 mils thicknesshaving inlaid therein, for at least 5 percent of its thickness, aregularly repeatable pattern.

3. The method of making a vinyl type covering for floors, walls and thelike which comprises the steps of printing a vinyl resin ink on astrippable metallic backing material, heating the printedbackingmaterial so as to remove solvent therefrom, applying to saidprinted mememes tallic backing, malleable resinous granules comprising amixture of polymers from the group consisting of polyvinyl chloride,copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate and copolymers of vinylchloride and vinylidene chloride, the said granules further comprisingapolymer mixture in which 45 to 90 percent, by weight, thereof is apolymer obtained by emulsion polymerization and 10 to 55 percent thereofis a dispersion type polymer, calendering the said granules into acontinuous sheet and onto the printed backing, passing the resultingcomposite vinyl sheet and backing through a heating zone maintainedbetween 120 C. and .180" C. for 2 to 5 minutes, and stripping the vinyllayer from the metallic backing mate! rial thereby providing a coveringof at least mils thickness having inlaid therein, for at least 5 percentof its thickness, a regularly repeatable pattern.

4. The method of making a vinyl type covering for' floors, walls and thelike which comprises the steps of printing a vinyl resin ink on astrippable metallic backing material, heating the printed backingmaterial between 70 C. and 180 C. for 1 to 5 minutes so as to removesolvent therefrom, applying to said printed metallic backing, malleableresinous granules comprising a mixture of polymers from the groupconsisting of polyvinyl chloride, copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylacetate and copolymers of vinyl chloride and vinylidene chloride, the

said granules further comprising a copolymer mixture in .which to'90percent, by weight, thereof is a polymer obtained by emulsionpolymerization and 10 to percent thereof is a dispersion type polymer,calendering the said granules into a continuous sheet and onto theprinted backing, passing the resulting composite vinyl sheet and backingthrough a heating zone maintained between C. and C. for 2 to 5 minutes,and stripping the vinyl layer from the metallic backing material therebyproviding a covering of at least 10 mils thickness having inlaidtherein, 'for at least 5 percent of its thickness, a regularlyrepeatable pattern.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING A VINYL TYPE COVERING FOR FLOORS, WALLS AND THELIKE WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF PRINTING A VINYL RESIN INK ON ASTRIPPABLE BACKING MATERIAL, HEATING THE PRINTED BACKING MATERIAL SO ASTO REMOVE SOLVENT THEREFROM, APPLYING TO SAID PRINTED BACKING, MALLEABLERESINOUS GRANULES COMPRISING A MIXTURE OF POLYMERS FROM THE GROUPCONSISTING OF POLYVINYL CHLORIDE, COPOLYMERS OF VINYL CHLORIDE AND VINYLACETATE AND COPOLYMERS OF VINYL CHLORIDE AND VINYLIDENE CHLORIDE, THESAID GRANULES FURTHER COMPRISING A POLYMER MIXTURE IN WHICH 45 TO 90PERCENT, BY WEIGHT, THEREOF IS A POLYMER OBTAINED BY EMULSIONPOLYMERIZATION AND 10 TO 55 PERCENT THEREOF IS A DISPERSION TYPEPOLYMER, PRESSING THE SAID GRANULES INTO A CONTINUOUS SHEET AND ONTO THEPRINTED BACKING, PASSING THE RESULTING COMPOSITE VINYL SHEET AND BACKINGTHROUGH A HEATING ZONE MAINTAINED BETWEEN 120* C. AND 180* C, ANDSTRIPPING THE VINYL LAYER FROM THE BACKING MATERIAL THEREBY PROVIDING ACOVERING OF AT LEAST 10 MILS THICKNESS HAVING INLAID THEREIN, FOR ATLEAST 5 PERCENT OF ITS THICKNESS, A REGULARLY REPEATABLE PATTERN.